When Duc Nguyen Abrahamson was an infant in 1975 Saigon, her father came home and told his wife, “Pack up the kids. We’re going!”
In the frantic hours that followed, Abrahamson’s mother was trampled in the rush to a waiting escape vessel, nearly drowning her baby daughter in the process. The family made it to the boat, was rescued by Denmark, and eventually resettled in East Michigan beginning the all-too-familiar challenges of refugees; adapting to language, work and culture of a strange new homeland.
Duc Nguyen Abrahamson (From Video))
Abrahamson would be the first in her family to graduate from college, Wayne State University, where she discovered the Asian American Professional Network. It was with this organization, she found that her two worlds of Vietnam and America could come together and she felt “for the first time I was home.”
Today, Abrahamson is the executive director of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, based in Farmington Hills. Through APACC, Abrahamson works to bring that same feeling of home as she builds relationships with U.S. and Asian companies. APACC is looking to expand with a second office in Grand Rapids.
This past fall, Niels van Duin and Lukas Alofs crossed the Atlantic Ocean to intern for Alan Headbloom’s show “Feel Like You Belong.” (Photo by Alan Headbloom)
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma joanne@wktv.org
The sky begins to turn a grayish black and just as the acknowledgment that a storm is coming, it begins to rain. Not a light, gentle rain, but harsh sheets as if someone is unloading dump trucks full of water from the sky.
However, when asked if they would like a ride back to their apartment from the WKTV station, Lukas Alofs and Niels van Duin, nicely, but firmly, say no.
“We are used to this type of weather,” Lukas said with a laugh. “We ride in all types of weather back home.”
Back home is the Netherlands. Both Niels and Lukas visited the United States last fall to intern for Alan Headbloom’s “Feel Like You Belong” television program. The show, which shares the life stories of immigrants, expatriates, and refugees to the United States, is filmed at the WKTV studio in Wyoming.
“There really was not any formal internship program,” Alan said, adding that the internship came about through a friendship. “Niels’ mother is a dear friend with my Dutch business partner Sandra Wormgoor.”
Alan and Sandra created a web app called English a Day (www.englishaday.com) for English language learners. A few years ago, Sandra was in the Grand Rapids area and came by to watch a taping of one of Alan’s shows, falling in love with the “Feel Like You Belong” program.
Fast forward to last year and Niels’ and Lukas’ school, Kandinsky College in Nijmegen, Netherlands, (which according to the boys is more like a high school), requires the students to do an internship outside of the Netherlands. This is part of the school’s International Baccalaureate program.
“When Sandra learned of this, she proposed the fellows come work for ‘Feel Like You Belong’,” Alan said. “I had fond memories of living abroad in my teen years; in fact, I’d say those early exposures influenced by future studies and ultimately my career choice.”
Niels, who had never been to the United States, admitted it was pretty exciting to have the opportunity to see and experience life in America.
“I expected the internship to be a lot of fun,” Niels said. “I did not expect a big ‘culture shock’ when coming to the United States because what I’d seen of American culture (on the internet, TV, etc.) was quite similar to our own customs.”
The biggest challenge? Well for Alan, it was changing his American cultural mindset to consider the needs of Europeans living in Grand Rapids — especially two young men who could not drive.
“In our country, you can only get your driver’s licenses when you’re around the age of 18, so neither of us were allowed to drive,” Niels said. “That along with the fact that public transportation was not great (at least not what we were used to) made it pretty difficult to go from A to B.”
Alan was able to get a couple of bikes for Niels and Lukas to get around, go shopping, and get to and from WKTV. He also said when securing a place for them to stay, he considered if it was a walkable neighborhood as well. Along with that, Alan said he looked for opportunities for Niels and Lukas “to see the area through their own lenses.” This included a tour of Grand Valley State University and a chance to attend a Lakers football game.
“Of course a terrific experience for any student, local or international, is the chance to work on set at a real television station,” Alan said, and Niels agreed.
“I learned a lot about communication and working together as a team,” Niels said, adding he and Lukas spent time recording and cataloging several of the “Feel Like You Belong” shows. “Our colleagues, the other interns and the staff at WKTV, were incredibly fun and nice to work with.”
And while he enjoyed the opportunity, Niels said he probably will do film and video more as a hobby. Recently he enrolled at Utrecht Conservatory in hopes of becoming a music teacher. He also hopes to one day come back to Grand Rapids, perhaps with his family to show them some of things he did.
Alan, who has been involved in international and intercultural communications his whole life, said the international internship opportunity reminded him of the importance of travel and meeting new people, referring to a quote from Mark Twain: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
“I know how significant it has been to my life to have lived, worked, traveled, and studied across the globe,” Alan said. “ The only way for Americans to lose their xenophobia and fears is to go someplace else and live in someone else’s world. Lukas and Niels refreshed that appreciation for me.”
WKTV’s Joanne Bailey-Boorsma gets the scoop about SpringGR from Arlene Campbell, chief creator of opportunities and Attah Obande, director of dream fulfillment
SpringGR is a 12-week training experience to help entrepreneurs develop their business idea or business. This Thursday, Dec. 5, SpringGR will host its fall graduation at 6pm at 818 Butterworth St. SW. Valet parking is complimentary and available for the event. Six SpringGR entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to a group of judges. Go here for the details.
The true spirit of giving
A group of Grand Valley State University engineering students recently delivered a custom-built electric swing to an area family to help their daughter with special needs. The students built the specialized swing for Alexis Truax after her mother, Sarah Truax, contacted the School of Engineering after seeing a story on the local news about a similar project. More about this project here.
Have coffee with this guy
Alan Headbloom tapes his show here at WKTV
‘Feel Like You Belong’ producer and host Alan Headbloom will be the featured guest at Mr. Sid’s Wednesday Afternoon Video Series Wednesday,Dec. 4, at Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW, in Wyoming. Headbloom, who has 30 years of experience in cross cultural communication on six continents, will be discussing ‘Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them’ at 2pm. Read all about it here.
Fun fact:
The Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’ has a frequency only dogs can hear
In an interview in 2013, Paul McCartney said that he added a frequency only dogs can hear to the end of the Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’.
A 5-cent, hour-long phone call from a pay phone convinced a young Dominican immigrant that West Michigan was a place she could live. Fast-forward several decades, Ana Jose is boldly transforming the local business climate for Latino-owned enterprises one conversation, one seminar at a time. Join us to be inspired by this ever-humble, ever-aspiring young woman!
As lifelong educators and parents of biracial children, Melissa Giraud & Andrew Grant-Thomas are uniquely qualified to examine the country’s most skittish conversation: race. Together they share personal observations as well as tips for parenting while Embracing Race.
On his return visit to our studio, orphaned refugee Phillip Nguyen expresses gratitude for the country that took him in. With pride, he talks about his company’s new charity app, EZsamaritan. With an investment of 45,000 work hours, this app is a free resource to the 1.7 million non-profits across the United States. According to entrepreneur Nguyen, it’s all about giving back.
Michigan-born Carla Canales is a child of immigrant parents who uses her multi-cultural and multi-lingual upbringing in her day job as a world-traveling soprano. When she lands long enough in her current hometown of New York, she’s busy singing the praises of famous women, from Malala to Michelle Obama. Join us for this fascinating interview!
Swithina Mboko is a professor at the Seidman college of business at Grand Valley State University. In this interview, she discusses the culture differences between Zimbabwe and the US, the trials of teaching in a foreign country, and her qualitative research surrounding refugee entrepreneurs.
Vishavjit Singh is a first-generation South Asian-American cartoonist, writer, and performance artist. He joins us to talk about growing up Sikh in North America, living in New York after the 9-11 terrorist attack, and using one’s superpowers for good.
Growing up in southwest Grand Rapids, young Israel Ledesma knew both good times and bad. Using his personal experiences from the hard times – including brushes with the law — this local Latino leader fashioned his own view on kids, community, and the importance of mentoring.
From jobs in hospitality to car sales to organizational leadership, Carlos Sanchez has shown a bent for business. He joins us to tell of his own professional trajectory, including falling in love with an American along the way. Today, he uses his passion for talent development to share his vision for creating Latinx opportunities in his adopted West Michigan home.
From his very roots, Justo Gonzalez II was destined to be an advocate
for moral justice. From his devoutly Roman Catholic mother to his
community leader father, Justo grew into the mantle of his Spanish name,
which means “Justice.” Learn how a Puerto Rican boy from Buffalo, NY,
came to be an ordained voice of conscience for the marginalized of the
United States.
Frank Wu joins us to discuss growing up Asian American in very-white suburban Detroit. He shares the chilling impact of the 1982 Detroit murder of Vincent Chin on the Asian-American community. Finally, he calls for strengthened coalition building across the diverse Asian populations of the U.S.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
[Parental Warning: May not be suitable for younger children.]
Just looking at his name, one can tell that Marcelo Lehninger was destined to be a citizen of the world. The child of a Brazilian violinist and German pianist, young Marcelo grew up with two constants in his life: global fluidity and music. Today, he unites his passions on a third continent as music director for the Grand Rapids Symphony. Join us for an uplifting conversation about life, love, and music!
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Marcel “Fable” Price talks of his challenging youth, a teacher who saw promise in him, and the redemptive power of poetry. As Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan, he uses his platform to empower area youth, call out public policies that marginalize brown and black people, and advocate for mental health services.
Lucia Rios was born with spina bifida but also with a family who urged her to try to do anything she wanted to. That included trying roller-skating on crutches and attending university in an era when the U.S. was still working to become handicap-accessible. She joins colleague Stacey Trowbridge to talk about stigmas, accommodation, and common-sense tips around disability.
Herself the child of itinerant parents, Olivia Sprinkel finds herself transplanted across the Atlantic to New York City. There she guides Fortune 500 companies in achieving big visions for sustainability. Join us for a conversation on expat life, innovation, and charting one’s North Star.
Back in Mexico, Mercedes Lopez-Duran got important advice when she started as a restaurant dishwasher: You are the one responsible for your own career trajectory. Taking that guidance to heart, she worked her way up to cook and moved with daughter Paola to the United States. When a Mexican restaurant came up for sale, the intrepid duo took a deep breath, leapt into the void, and never looked back. Today, El Granjero Mexican Grill celebrates 10 years of good cooking in the Bridge Street neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the process, they created a place for locals to feel like they belong.
At its best, America is a place of welcome for the oppressed and homeless of the world. A great example of this welcome is the vocational English program for Bhutanese refugees in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Krishna Bista, a Bhutanese volunteer educator, joins Minnie Morey, President of the West Michigan Asian American Association, to share the details.
Amer Ahmed grew up in the United States in the awkward brown immigrant space between black and white. Hear how one Muslim boy’s diverse upbringing influenced a career of bridging differences and teaching others to work more inclusively.
In his native Congo, Kyezie Bwanangela found himself running for his life ahead of armed militias. Luckily, the young man found safety and eventual refugee status in the United States. The criminal justice major joins us to talk about corruption, leadership, and what is needed to regain democracy.
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
What would you do if you were a farmer thrown out of your native land? Listen as Kharka Turung tells of losing both his birth country and his ethnic homeland. With the aid of Bethany Christian Services, Kharka finds friendship through Hope Farms manager Scott Townley and meaningful work as he regains his agrarian past in the midst of a bewildering new language and culture.
Reouhidi Ndjerareou has an imposing name and a matching vision for leadership across the continent of his native Africa. Join us in the studio where this itinerant son of a preacher man talks of navigating the tricky issues of geography and ethnic identity. Caught between the U.S. and birth country of Chad, Reouhidi shares with viewers his take on colonialism, cross-cultural relationships, and national empowerment. Be ready to be inspired.
Metta Anongdeth knew something was wrong when her grandmother came to bathe and dress her and her young siblings with tears in her eyes. It turned out to be the day her parents would smuggle their family out of Communist Laos, leaving extended family behind–perhaps forever. Don’t miss this inspiring story of danger, courage, and embracing a new life in a distant land.
Seeking asylum from the Ethiopian civil war, Nardos Osterhart settled in the U.S. with her parents and siblings. If this child of a diplomat learned one thing, it was adaptation. That hard-earned determination got her through college, landed her a job in healthcare, and propelled her onto — of all places — a comedy stage! Stay tuned. After our conversation, Nardos shares some of her home-grown humor with Feel Like You Belong viewers.
Moving to her third country nets Juane Odendaal a national collegiate championship. Tune in as Alan invites this South African-born soccer defender to talk of sisterhood, cross-border etiquette, and what it takes to balance a passion for sport and people.
“How do I buck the expectations of my parents and a billion people back home?” Chinese students in the U.S. ask this question this every day. “Do I listen to the counsel of my family, as tradition dictates? Or do I follow the passions of my heart?” Creative business strategist Ning Liu talks about her life journey in the context of this cultural conundrum.
When the Mexican peso devalued, Juan Daniel Castro found he owed more money than he earned. So, he did what any optimist would do: summoned his courage, applied for a visa, and moved to the U.S. Twenty years later, he is an American citizen, the leader of a salsa band, and an advocate for healthcare in the Latino community.
On a cold blustery winter Friday, Feel Like You Belong made a road trip to the Sikh gurdwara (temple) in Ada, Michigan. The members of the Sikh Society of West Michigan greeted us warmly and staged a special worship service with instrumental music and singing–even though their normal worship falls on Sunday. Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious lunch and gracious conversation in their dining hall. Join us for a special edition when we talk with temple priest Bhai Baljeet Singh and temple member Veenu Suri. In a later installment, we will share an absolutely charming interview with octogenarian temple member Kashmir Singh.
